Railway murder, robbery cases double in Mumbai

MUMBAI: The city’s lifeline for some commuters has meant a death sentence. Murder cases on railways in the city doubled in 2018 from the year before, as did robberies. More than 37,000 cases of theft were reported on city railways last year alone, where commuters lost valuables worth Rs 69 crore. Overall, the number of railway crime cases in Mumbai in 2018 was more than thrice that in Pune, Nagpur and Aurangabad divisions put together.

Fights between commuters and interpersonal relationships breaking down led to a majority of the murders last year. In April 2018, a Mulund businessman, Deepak Patwa, was pushed off the platform and fell in the path of a running train. Police said a woman, Manisha Khakadiya, had accused Patwa of touching her inappropriately and got into an altercation with him. A male commuter on the platform supported her and the two jostled with Patwa. Police booked the duo for pushing Patwa off, but a sessions court granted bail to Khakadiya. In some cases, railway premises were only used for disposing off bodies. For instance, in August, a man slit his gay partner's throat, fearing he would out their relationship, and pushed the body on tracks between Malad and Goregaon. The most shocking murder was that of Gujarat housewife Dariya Chaudhary on the Bhuj-Dadar Express in December. The killer attempted to sexually abuse her and also took away her jewellery.

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The spurt in crime on railway routes speaks for the need to reinforce measures such as CCTV surveillance and deployment of guards in ladies compartments at all times. That an effort has been made to register all offences big or small will help provide an accurate representation of areas and stations which need more attention and thus help law enforcement.

“We made it our priority to solve murder and robbery cases as these are heinous crimes and the loss faced by a victim's family is immeasurable,” a senior officer from Mumbai GRP said. Four murder cases were reported in 2017, which rose to eight cases last year. Robbery surged from 496 cases to 994.

“Avenues for committing profit-oriented crimes are more in urban areas. So, a higher number of property offences would be found in Mumbai’s railways than any other part of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the country’s commercial capital and there is more money here," said Vijay Raghavan, professor, Centre for Criminology and Justice, School of Social Work, Tiss.

While the detection rate for robberies on railways across Maharashtra was high at 88% last year, that for thefts was a mere 10%. “Increased registration of crime can be said to be the reason behind the significant number of theft cases (over 48,000 reported in the state last year). We do not turn away complainants and register an FIR for theft even when a passenger has forgotten or lost his belongings. Detection rates are not very high as tracking down personal items such as clothes, documents or money is tough,” said a GRP officer.

Molestation cases on railways in Mumbai surged 63% year-on-year, from 97 in 2017 to 158.

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